Coordinating Minister Airlangga: Indonesia's Economy In 2023 Needs To Be Supported By The Digital Sector

Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Airlangga Hartarto. (Photo: Doc. Antara)

Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartato said he was optimistic that good economic performance in 2023 needed to be supported by potential in the digital sector.

As is known, the government is targeting economic growth in 2023 at 5.3 percent.

"In the last two years, people's behavior has become more concerned and one of them is supported by e-commerce and on demand services such as ride-hailing (online motorcycle taxi) online food delivery, as well as online-based logistics business," he said virtually at the Executive Media Forum Indonesia: Broadcasting Dark 2023: Digital and Consumers to Become Mainstay in Jakarta, quoted from Antara, Thursday 9 March.

In 2022, Indonesia is said to be a major player in the ASEAN digital sector because 40 percent of the total transactions in Southeast Asia come from Indonesia.

The value of the digital economy by 2025 is predicted to reach 130 billion US dollars and will continue to increase to 300 billion US dollars by 2030.

To realize the huge potential of the digital economy, he continued, several things are important to pay attention to.

Among them is the total population of Indonesia, which is mostly at the productive age (15-46 years), has more than 2,400 startups or 6th ranked countries with the most startups in the world, and internet penetration has reached 76.8 percent," he said.

Airlangga emphasized the collaboration and synergy of all parties, especially the role of corporations and households, so that the 5.3 percent economic growth target in 2023 can be achieved.

The results of the assessment show that household and corporate savings have increased significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the savings have not been re-optimized for expansion and spending in 2023.

"Therefore, consumption from investment needs to be encouraged in 2023 and the investment target in 2023 of IDR 1,400 trillion will increase to IDR 650 trillion in 2024. This is important for Indonesia to reduce the ongoing global volitality," said the Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs.

Holding the Chairship of ASEAN 2023, Indonesia is said to be determined to strengthen the relevance of the Southeast Asian region as the center of regional economic growth.

The digital economy was again appointed as one of the pillars of Indonesia's Chairship in ASEAN in addition to recovery, rebuilding, and sustainability in the hope of accelerating inclusive digital transformation in order to reduce the digital divide in the region.

"We hope that the Chairship of Indonesia at the ASEAN Summit (High Level Conference) can encourage the national economy in various cities where the ASEAN 2023 side event is held, as well as a moment to show economic resilience, so that Indonesia deserves to be a foreign investment destination," said Airlangga.